Free online I Ching cast

How does the 3-coin cast work?

Each toss throws three coins at once. In the convention Inti Soul uses, one face counts 3 points and the other 2, so three coins always total 6, 7, 8 or 9. Toss six times and record from the bottom up: the first toss is the bottom line, the sixth is the top line. The tool on this page follows exactly those steps, and the seed keeps the result so you can reopen it or send it to someone.

• 6 — old yin — a changing yin line that becomes yang in the resulting hexagram; probability 1/8.
• 7 — young yang — a still yang line; probability 3/8.
• 8 — young yin — a still yin line; probability 3/8.
• 9 — old yang — a changing yang line that becomes yin in the resulting hexagram; probability 1/8.

Example: one three-coin cast

With the seed vi-du-gieo-que-19, the tool's six tosses give these lines, recorded from the bottom up:

1. Toss 1 · Line 1 (bottom): 9 — old yang, changing.
2. Toss 2 · Line 2: 8 — young yin.
3. Toss 3 · Line 3: 8 — young yin.
4. Toss 4 · Line 4: 8 — young yin.
5. Toss 5 · Line 5: 7 — young yang.
6. Toss 6 · Line 6 (top): 8 — young yin.

Those six lines make primary hexagram 3 — Difficulty at the Beginning, Water ☵ above and Thunder ☳ below. Judgement: A hard beginning, like a shoot breaking through the soil. Do not rush ahead; seek helpers.

Changing lines: Line 1 (bottom) — they flip to give resulting hexagram 8 — Holding Together: Holding together. Find your way to where you belong — coming early is good fortune. Read the primary judgement first, then the changing line as where the situation is turning, then the resulting hexagram as the direction it is moving — always together with the primary hexagram.

Read hexagram 3 (Difficulty at the Beginning) explained on Inti Tao, in Vietnamese · Open this exact cast in the tool

Reading the primary hexagram, changing lines and resulting hexagram

Start with the primary hexagram: its name, the upper and lower trigrams and the judgement describe the context of your question. Next look at the changing lines — positions 1 (bottom) to 6 (top) — because that is where the situation is turning. If there are changing lines, they flip to give the resulting hexagram: read it as the direction things are moving, never apart from the first hexagram. With no changing lines the cast is static; read the whole judgement of the primary hexagram. When several lines change, do not take one isolated sentence as the verdict on the whole cast.

For help phrasing the question and reading in more depth, see the guide to casting the I Ching with 3 coins and reading it.

Reflection, not prediction

A hexagram does not announce what will certainly happen. It gives you an image for looking again at the conditions, your own position and how to act more carefully. Cast once for one question and take time to read it, instead of recasting until you get an answer you like. For matters of health, law or money, ask a qualified person first; the cast should only be one layer of reflection beside real facts.

Why not to recast the same question, and how likely each kind of line is, see whether the I Ching is accurate. For a question about love, cast on the page I Ching for love.